started on the panzer III i got from tanxalot today, first up i tore it apart and started on the lower hull, im going to fit it with elmod prop so ive made some room by removing the battery compartment, then i will be filling in all the holes to make it waterproof. i have also removed the return roller mounts as i have ordered some metal ones as well as the idler tension adjusters, i will be raising the rollers 2/4/3 mm from front to back. at the moment im looking at doing a ausf L in a das reich scheme to go with my tiger 1 but havent made my mind up fully, i have a big list of bits i want/need but cant get them all yet ,so it will be more of a piece by piece build. i have a set of 3.1 reduction gearboxs to put in already
all the best, ice
on second thoughts lets not go to Camelot ,it is a silly place
I've been looking at modding the Pz III return rollers aswell.
Been studying pics, walk arounds, build threads etc and came to the conclusion that the rear pair should be raised level with the top of the rear shocker ( 4 or 5mm ), the center pair should be raised the same amount, and the front pair should be left alone as its the drive sprocket that's wrong.
I did a mock up and noticed that the gap between tracks and fender was still too big. I think that Mr HL has made the lower hull slightly too deep in order to fit the gear boxes, although it may be possible to shave off 2 or 3mm from the lower hull which would make it look just about right.
What do you think?
John
HE/HL Leopard 2-A5, HL Pz IV-F1, HL Jagdpanther (WIP), M26A1 Pershing (WIP), HL Pz III M (WIP), Bandai Hummel (WIP)
i know what you mean about the return rollers, i went for those measurments as that seems to be what the builds on other sites have gone for, but if you went for the stug gearboxs i think shaving the lower hull could be a option, or just cover it with schurtzen
regards, ice
on second thoughts lets not go to Camelot ,it is a silly place
Hi Ice raise the return Idlers to stop the track fouling suspension mounts. if you are fitting schurzen it dosnt matter the amount.But a mod thats needed is tensioners and because the weight is going up redrill the spring holes to tighten the suspension.Mine has full metal suspension and wheels and schurzen it runs like a dream.
Hi Ice just redrill them about a 1/3 of the way round and try them then if needed you could move them another 1/3 gives you 3 suspension settings ,Ive never had to do them more than a 1/3 .
regards pete
P.S.you can use this mod on Tigers and anyother that uses this kind of spring.
started back on the pIII, as a total change of plans im going to turn it into a bergepanzerIII
first off i have added metal wheels , suspension ,return rollers and rear track adjusters, i was looking at the proline conversion kits but thought i would have a go from scratch, i started by building the box with balsa cut into planks, the bottom is plywood which ive scribed to look like planks, all the measurments are taken from the panzertracks no 16 mag which has profile plans in 1/35 scale so its just a matter of converting it into 1/16